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One advantage of grabbing a drink in Ocean Beach is that you can’t drive there, so there’s no packed parking lots or traffic to navigate.

Once on the main strip, you can walk at your leisure, or ride a bike, as a group of people chose to do Saturday.

“You can’t beat the ride,” said Ed Spinella from Kings Park, who rode a wide-tired, sand-handling mountain bike from Field Five at Robert Moses State Park to CJ’s with a bunch of friends.

The passengers on the "For A Reason" out of Islip came across the Great South Bay to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Ocean Beach on Fire Island, on Saturday, March 17, 2018. Photo Credit: Ian J. Stark

He admitted, “this time of year, it’s fine one way but…man! The wind is just brutal on the trip back.”

Temperatures hovered between 40 and 45 degrees through the afternoon, but Spinella sported a windbreaker, boots and shorts, as well as leprechaun-styled knee-high socks and a shamrock necklace to mark the holiday.

“I come to Fire Island all the time, but this is my first St. Patrick’s Day here,” Beth de George, a Melville resident, said. “I had to come to CJ’s for the corned beef, and of course a Rocket Fuel.”

For those who aren’t familiar with nightlife in Ocean Beach, CJ’s is known as the “Home of the Rocket Fuel,” a powerful cocktail (pina colada, mixed with vodka, tequila and 151-proof rum) that is synonymous with summer fun for a lot of Fire Island fun-lovers.